Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: “The Great Boldini”

At some point I’ll review the three live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movies and maybe even the CGI one. For now, my loyal readers will have to settle for a synopsis of an episode from the original classic animated series. I still have a fuzzy VHS copy of “The Great Boldini,” which my loving grandparents purchased for my sister and I from the Burger King Kids Club back in 1990.

I defy anyone to fight back a smile when you hear the TMNT theme music. So many fond memories of growing up with the turtles. This episode opened with Michelangelo attempting to perform magic for his three brothers. Michelangelo was my favorite of the turtles, but I went trick-or-treating as Leonardo in kindergarten because Michelangelo costumes were sold out. The turtles were joined by two kids named Zach and Caitlyn. They’re characters who I don’t really remember. The turtles then attended a magic show at a local museum, headlined by the title character, The Great Boldini. Conveniently, this event was covered by April O’Neil. The turtles wore their usual disguise of fedoras and trench coats. Boldini is revealed to be in cahoots with some gangsters in an emerald heist. The police searched all those in attendance and the turtles were discovered, but a stock Irish police officer mistook them for leprechauns.

Rat King arrived out of the blue, disturbed by the heist and demanding the emerald as restitution. The turtles were fugitives from justice while Zach and Caitlyn were pursued and captured by the villains. April and the turtles struck a deal with the police to save the kids. The climax, including a snowball fight, ensued after Rat King created a blizzard in the museum. Michelangelo proved to be the superior magician to Boldini and the emerald was recovered. The VHS also included a trailer for the first live action TMNT movie!!!